A Sight For Sore Eyes
by KyliaQuilor
Summary: (Hydra!Skye Role Reversal AU) It's been months since the day S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. Months since he'd last seen her. But now, with Carl Creel on the lose, Agent Grant Ward has no other choice but to go down into Vault D and talk to the one person he's been trying his best to forget - his former rookie, the woman he once loved, Skye. Written for Skyeward Month, Week 3, Day 1.
1. A Sight For Sore Eyes

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 **Note 1:** Written for Skyewardmoth Week 3, Day 1 – Role Reversal AU. I usually don't write for these sorts of things (as I always have too many projects on my plate), but I love a good Role Reversal AU, so I decided to try my hand at one.

 **Note 2:** I tried to tell the same scene without just lifting who said what – but shifting the dialogue to fit the particularities of both characters.

This is unbeta'd.

A Sight For Sore Eyes

By Alkeni

Vault D.

He'd tried to pretend that the room didn't exist. That its occupant had died during the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., rather than... than what happened. It was preferable, to imagine her dead than a traitor. It made -

It made it easier to deal with everything. With the way every thought of her sent him into an emotional tailspin he was never ready for. To the rest of the team, Skye was just the traitor. The woman they'd welcomed onto the bus, the team... their hearts. But she'd turned on them... hadn't been one of them even from the start.

He should have suspected something. He'd served under Garrett for years – he should have picked up on the similarities between them, somehow. _But there weren't any. She was too good at hiding them._

For his whole life, both with his family and when he'd finally escaped from it, Ward had always kept a careful control of his emotions. Caring about people didn't work, and nobody was going to ever help you, so why bother? It was why he'd gravitated to specialist work once S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited him. Sure, he usually had a team of some kind running back-end, but it wasn't the same thing. As a specialist, he could work alone.

 _And then Coulson had to go and recruit me for his new team and ruin that._ He hadn't planned on liking any of them. But everyone on the team – they were his team. They were his friends. Coulson, May, Fitz, Simmons...

 _And Skye._

Skye had been a hell of a lot more than a friend. For the first time in his life, Grant Ward had been in love, and it was with Skye.

And in the end, that had all been a lie. He'd fallen in love with a lie. The brilliant, idealistic hacker who had been the first person in a long time to see him as more than just 'Agent Ward', who cared about everyone around, who believed in the ideals of the Rising Tide...

She was all one big lie. There was just Skye, Hydra Operative. Protègè of John Garrett. The Spy for the Clairvoyant. And she hadn't – no. Whatever she'd claimed there, on the plane, before Deathlok came in to rescue her, she didn't love him back. That had to be true. She was – god, she was a better liar than he was, and Grant Ward was one of the best liars in the world.

 _I can even lie to myself most of the time._

Her 'feelings' had all been a lie, and Grant Ward didn't feel anything for her but disgust and hate. She'd betrayed them all. Killed Koenig, dropped FitzSimmons into the ocean... killed Agent Hand. Been a member of Hydra and helped to bring the entire agency down.

And whatever she said, Grant refused to accept that she hadn't known about Garrett's order to have him shot. How could she not? Her whole mission was supposedly about finding out what had saved Coulson's life, and it had taken him nearly dying for that information to fall into Garrett's hands, finally.

It had been months since he'd last seen Skye with his own eyes, that last day in the Cybertek Facility before she was taken away. But now he was going to see her again. Because they needed information. Carl Creel was very much _not_ dead, and they needed to know more about him. They needed to know how to make sure that he didn't succeed in whatever mission Hydra had set him on.

Given her connection to Garrett...

 _Does she really think she can manipulate me again? That I'm going to let her play on feelings for her I don't have anymore?_ He'd let her do that too many times. Let Garrett use that against him when he had Deathlok stop her heart to stop him from destroying the Hard Drive. He didn't have much technical savvy – especially not when compared to Skye – but he could keep it out of Hydra's hands easily enough.

But he'd handed it over to Deathlok. When the only other choice had been watching Skye die in front of him...

 _I don't love her anymore._

Grant Ward could lie even to himself, and believe it.

Skye was sitting on the bed when he walked into the Vault, but she was on her feet when she saw him. Even in the prison fatigues, she still looked... Ward shut that train of thought down immediately.

Her hair was longer, unkempt. His specialist instincts had him looking her over from top to bottom, even thought she posed no physical threat on the other side of that laser barrier. _Even I couldn't get through that._ Hell, May couldn't. Romanoff couldn't.

"Grant. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes..." Skye said softly. He forced himself to ignore the familiar tone, the tone of the girl he'd known, and focus on the words. She couldn't play him. Not again. Even the best specialists could make mistakes, but he wasn't going to make the same one twice. He said nothing as he continued to look her over – and as he saw the scars on her wrists. His eyes closed for a moment, driving away the stab of concern for her, at what those had to be from, and he brought his attention back to her face. Not that it was much better to look at that. Memories rose unbidden to the top of his mind – memories he didn't want to have. Memories he wasn't going to let himself remember.

"What took Coulson so long?" She asked, her voice calm and level. Smooth. He could only be thankful she wasn't trying more than that. "I told him weeks ago that I'd give you information on Hydra."

"I've had bigger problems to worry about than the information you might have." Grant replied coldly.

"Well, clearly that's not the case now. What happened?"

Grant stood in front of the barrier, hands crossed behind his back, standing stiff and unbending. "Carl Creel." He saw no recognition on her eyes, but that didn't mean much. "Garrett reported him dead. He's not. And now Hydra has him on a mission, and we can't let him complete it. What do you know about him?"

"You haven't changed a bit." She said with a small smile. _I've changed. I've changed back to what I was before I met you._ And more. Ward knew he was even less sociable than before, and that said a lot. But – what was the point? Making connections with people didn't work out. Skye had betrayed them. Fitz had nearly died and was so... he was so different now. It hurt to see him like he was now. And Simmons – it had all been too much for her and she'd just walked away. Coulson was barely there now, always locked up in his office or off on some other project for S.H.I.E.L.D. May was pretty much the same, but... even then...

"You tell me what I want to know, or I walk." Ward told her.

"You wouldn't happen to have a picture of 'Creel'?" Skye asked. Grant fiddled with the tablet in his hands and brought up Creel's file. He walked up the barrier and held it up for her. She leaned in towards the picture and his eyes fell to her wrists. She followed his gaze.

"AC didn't tell you?" _No. He didn't._ There was a lot Coulson didn't tell anyone these days. "I had some... issues, adjusting to everything. Had a bit of a rough stretch." _Cutting your wrists? Taht's a rough stretch?_ "Snap a plastic spoon in half and you get something pretty sharp. That was the first one. The second time... I'm sure I don't need to tell you how sharp you can get a piece of paper if you fold it just right." She brought a hand up to her face and moved her hair away from her right temple, revealing a small, healing cut. "When that went away... I started running at the walls."

Grant bit back his immediate response. She didn't deserve sympathy. She didn't deserve anything more than what she was getting.

"I expected something more creative from you Skye. You're supposed to be about the out of the box thinking. Or was that just a lie too?" Grant shouldn't have said that, and he regretted it as soon as the words came out, but -

Skye accepted his words impassively. "When I finally came out of sedation after that... I was done. My head was – it was clear. What I needed to do – it all made sense. I know what I've done. What I am. But I can still help you." _I've had enough of your help, Skye._

Ward started to turn around. He'd told her – answers or he walked. SO he was walking.

"Creel was a boxer." Ward turned back around. That much he knew, but at least she was on topic. "He had some ability – could turn himself into whatever material he touched. Touch a rock, his body became rock. Touch glass, he was made from glass. Crazy, right?" For a moment, there was a glimmer of that Skye he'd first fallen for – the girl who greeted everything with wonder in her eyes, all the crazy shit S.H.I.E.L.D. faced that he'd long since gotten used to.

"He used his powers to win in his fights – when your fists are steel under your gloves, you really can't lose. But really – he just liked hurting people." Skye continued.

"Garrett must have loved him." Ward replied

"John did. Kept him alive, reported him as dead. Thought he might be useful. Ended up handing him off to some other branch of Hydra. I don't know who he's reporting to now." Skye shook her head. "That's all I know."

"We pretty much figured all that out." Ward countered. "So if you don't have anything else..." He started to turn again. He needed to get out of the room. He needed to get away from her. He hated her – or was it himself he hated, for...

 _I don't have feelings for her anymore. She never had feelings for he. She's just a traitor. Just a murderer._

"I don't know who he reports to. But I know how he'd be making contact with whoever that person is."

"I'm listening." Ward didn't turn around this time. He couldn't look at her face. Couldn't handle the memories that rose unbidden.

"When Hydra was still hiding inside S.H.I.E.L.D., they sent messages to assets outside the agency... people like me... - using the white noise inside the Quantum Key Distribution Frequencies. And those frequencies, and that white noise, is still around. That's how he'll be getting his orders."

It made sense – but he couldn't trust a word Skye had to say. She was that good of a liar. "We'll see."

"It's true. I lied to you enough, Grant." He stiffened a little as she used his first name. "I won't ever lie to you again – everything I say... it's going to be the truth. For the rest of my life." She was trying to play him. Trying to use their past. Using his first name. Vowing to tell her the truth. A part of him desperately wanted to believe her, but he ignored that part. Locked it down and filed it away in a deep, dark place where he could ignore it.

"I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm not expecting to ever get out of her." She told him, sounding for all the world to be in earnest. "I just want to help you." She said again. "And when what I just told you turns out to be true, I hope you'll come back. There's more I can tell you. More you need to-"

Grant made the grid opaque, blocking all sound. He didn't need to hear more from her.

 _If this turns out to be true, Coulson is going to want to send me down here again._

That was a possibility he didn't relish. But part of him...

Part of him did.

 _The woman I fell in love with never existed. But I still miss her. I still love that woman._

He just had to keep reminding himself that the woman behind that laser grid _wasn't_ the Skye he'd fallen in love with.


	2. How We Got Here

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 **Note 1:** That I am writing this is not an indication that I am actually planning on picking this fic up and doing more with it going forward as a regular thing. But my muse was poking me in the eye with a stick insisting I write this addition to the fic, and I can't resist my muse when it pokes me in the eye with a stick. So I had to get it to stop. Hence, this. For all intents and purposes, this fic is still done. More may still come down the line, but not right now.

 **Note 2:** As with the earlier chapter, this is unbeta'd. However, I am looking for a beta that would be willing to help me clean these two chapters up (and I could then post up the edited versions) and be willing to beta-read future installments and serve as an idea sounding board if my muse pokes me again (though I've made sure there's no sticks anywhere near the cage I keep my muse locked up in most of the time, so it can't roam free and collect even more ideas). If you're interested, shoot me a message via Tumblr (my tumblr is alkenifanfiction . tumblr .com) or the FFN messaging system or something along those lines.

A Sight for Sore Eyes

By Alkeni

Chapter 2: How We Got Here

 **Thirteen Years Before S.H.I.E.L.D. Fell**

Grant Ward had graduated military school. He supposed he hadn't had to stay there, these last two years, but he'd really had nowhere else to go. And there were parts of his schooling that he'd liked. He enjoyed the marksmanship training, the regimented rules and structure of the school. They had always been a refreshing change from the arbitrariness he'd faced every day at home. It wasn't like they needed to do anything for his mother to torture him and Christian and Rose. Christian had never needed a reason to hurt Thomas, to hurt him, to make him hurt Thomas.

Grant shook his head, driving thoughts of his mother and older brother out of his mind. He didn't need to think about them. He didn't need to _ever_ think about them, frankly. Or his father. Christian and Mother were in prison, where they belonged, and his Father was a disgraced ex-Congressman, drummed out of office in a landslide after the revelations about the inner workings of the Ward Family came to light.

If Grant had found out about what Christian had done to Thomas before Rose had done what she'd done...

Well, he'd probably have tried to kill Christian. He knew the state of his own mind then. Even knowing that Rose had gone to the police, the press... finally let the world know about all the dirty laundry that the Ward Family had been hiding behind its wealth and prominence...

The media circus had been hell, though at least the school administration had managed to keep him insulated from most reporters looking for a story. It had taken a lot out of him to testify in court, to face Christian and his mother and tell the world exactly what they'd done, but with Rose's support, with Thomas's support, he'd managed it. Rose and Thomas had been taken out of Father's care and given to their Gramzy...

She'd given him the choice of leaving military school, but Grant had chosen to stay. Though he had visited home a lot more often now, given that home was the townhouse in Boston Gramzy lived in, rather than the estate in the countryside he'd grown up on.

Grant shook his head, driving those thoughts out of his head and looked around the coffee shop where he was supposed to be meeting a 'John Garrett'. Apparently an old friend of the Quartermaster at school, Grant was meeting with him now that he'd graduated as a favor to the grizzled old Marine veteran, who had always been one of his favorite teachers. Something about a 'unique career opportunity'.

 _Not that I really know what I want to do with my life._ He had – and still was – entertaining the notion of joining the Army or perhaps the Marines. He liked the idea of being part of something larger than himself, of the structure he'd come to find so comforting. He'd also considered other options – policing... law enforcement had, in the end, been what saved him and his siblings. If he could give that back to others...

But wasn't like Grant didn't have time. But he'd agreed to hear this 'Garrett' out.

The shop was mostly empty, save for a few other people drinking coffee and reading newspapers, the two baristas behind the counter and one older man typing on a bulky laptop computer.

The sound of the door opening draw Grant's attention and he saw a man of middle age – maybe late thirties? - walk in. He was wearing a suit and tie and held a briefcase in one hand. He almost looked like an accountant, or mild-mannered administrator or bureaucrat. He surveyed the shop carefully, showing an unusual awareness of his surroundings. It was only when the man started walking towards him that Grant realized that this had to be John Garrett.

 _Not quite what I expected. I didn't know Quartermaster Miller was friends with any suits... or that he'd call suit-work 'interesting'._

The man stopped near Grant's table. "Grant Ward?"

Grant nodded. "Yea. John Garrett?"

The other man shook his head. "John is unavailable, unfortunately. I'm Phil Coulson – John and I work together." He held out a hand, and Grant shook it carefully, just a little hesitant. "Can I sit?"

"Free country." Grant said, shrugging. The man - Coulson - pulled out the chair opposite Grant and sat down, setting his briefcase on the table long enough to open it, pull out a file folder and set that on the table. With smooth, clearly practiced efficiency, Coulson closed the briefcase, set it next to himself on the floor and opened the folder in front of him. Grant wasn't good at reading things upside down, but he did recognize his photo near the top of the first page.

"You're a remarkable young man, Mr. Ward." Coulson told him. "Your hand-eye coordination is off the charts, your physical skills put you at the top of your class and your analytical skills aren't anything to sneeze at either."

 _Off the charts?_ Grant hadn't heard that. He was at the top of his class for unarmed combat and marksmanship, but he hadn't even tried for either. Guns... they calm almost naturally to him... and well, he'd had to learn how to fight the hard way before going to military school. "And you're here to tell me about an exciting career opportunity?" Grant couldn't help the slight sarcasm that managed to make it into his voice. Whatever this guy did, he couldn't do anything _that_ exciting.

"Have you ever heard of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division?"

 _What kind of name is that?_ Either the people who named it were idiots, or they'd _really_ wanted the initials to spell out 'shield'.

"Nope. Never heard of it. I'm guessing someone really wanted the initials to spell out S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Coulson smiled just a bit. "I'd imagine so, but I wasn't around when they founded the agency. We're a specialist organization – we deal with certain... unique issues, world-wide. We keep a fairly low-profile. But we're always looking to recruit promising young individuals like yourself."

"You want me to join a secret government organization?" Grant looked around, almost wondering if there were hidden cameras around. But he didn't think QM Miller would do that to him.

"Essentially yes." He reached into his coat pocket and handed a business card to Grant. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is an organization founded on protection. It's a dangerous world we live in. You've got a lot of native skill, and you could put your talents to use in a lot of places. But if you join S.H.I.E.L.D., we can help you hone those talents to the the utmost. And I can garuntee that you'll wake up every day knowing you're making a difference in the world." He closed the file folder and slid it across the table to Grant. "Read that and give me a call if you decide you're interested." He nodded to the business card and stood up.

 **Today**

Ward was driven out of his reminiscence by the sound of Coulson's voice. He'd been sitting in the kitchen – it was six in the morning, and he could usually count on being alone here most mornings – drinking coffee and eating breakfast, when his thoughts had drifted. He'd done his best to keep them off... keep his thoughts off of _her_ , and he'd managed it... but...

"Penny for your thoughts, Ward?" Coulson asked, pouring a mug of coffee for himself and coming to sit down at the table.

"Just... thinking about the first time we met, Sir." Ward admitted. He looked away for a moment. "Do you ever wonder if things would have been different, if Garrett hadn't been called away to deal with that situation in Madrid right before he could come meet me in that coffee shop? If Garrett had been the one to recruit me to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Coulson shook his head. "I don't think anything would be that different. He was your S.O. You served with him for years, and you didn't join Hydra. You're a good man. There's no doubt in my mind that you would never have betrayed this agency."

"You thought Skye was a good person too. Look how that turned out." Ward pointed out, finishing the last of his coffee and standing up, picking up his plate and scraping the rest of his food into the trash. He wasn't hungry anymore.

 _What if it had been Garrett? Would I have turned out like Skye?_ Ward didn't think he would have, didn't _want_ to think he would have. Some people were just evil. That was Skye. That's what it had to be.


	3. I Made My Choices

**Disclaimer:** I don't own AoS.

 **Note 1:** Still looking for a beta-reader for this fic, both for future installments and to go back and help me with this and earlier chapters.

 **Note 2:** Again, don't expect regular updates for this. This chapter comes out my dull, boring mindless job, where I have lots of time to think about fics and write scenes in my head. So while it's pretty clear now that there will be more, when more will come is and remains undecided.

 **Note 3:** This AU is not a one for one parallel. Skye and Ward are different people, and when put into these different contexts, they're still going to be different. They're going to react to their situations slightly differently. Skye's relationship to and history with Garrett in this AU is not a clone of Ward's relationship to Garrett in the canon. Obviously there are tons and tons of similarities, but like I said, different people.

A Sight For Sore Eyes

By Alkeni

Chapter 3: I Made My Choices

Ward didn't want to back down there.

But once Skye's information about the white noise had turned out to be solid, Ward had known he'd have to go down there sooner or later. Sooner or later, Coulson would ask him to go down there, and Ward wouldn't tell him no. It wasn't that he couldn't say no to the man. But he knew that Coulson would only ask him to go down there if it was important.

S.H.I.E.L.D. needed the information she had. And since Skye was still not talking to anyone else, he was the only way to get it.

Ward stood at the door and closed his eyes, taking in a breath. He'd tried so hard to pretend she didn't exist, or that she'd died at the Hub, rather than turned out to be a traitor. He'd never quite succeded, but before going down into the Vault first time, he'd been able to _mostly_ pretend. He'd been able to... trick himself into thinking that sometimes, at least when he was awake.

But since going down into the vault two weeks ago... he hadn't been been able to even try to pretend. Despite his best efforts, Skye had continued to dominate his thoughts. About what they'd had, what they could have had. About the fact that...

About the fact that he still loved Skye. Not the woman in the vault, but the woman he'd known, back on the Bus. But it was a lot harder to separate the two in his mind than he would like. _I can't love a woman like her. I can't and still consider myself a good person_. And Grant Ward did see himself as a mostly good person. He wasn't as good a person as he'd once seen Skye to be. There were people a hell of a lot better than him – being a specialist was messy work at the best of times. He made hard calls, killed people, did things that weren't moral, but had to be done, for a greater good.

 _You know you're a good person because doing these things isn't easy for you. You still get upset when they happen._ Coulson had told him that once, after he'd killed his first man. Garrett may have been his S.O., but Coulson had been his mentor in a lot of ways, through the Ops Academy and after it. Finding out he'd died before the Battle of New York...

Finding out the man was almost worse – especially the way he'd stayed in the corner and 'couldn't help' himself. _That wasn't funny, Coulson_.

Ward forced himself back to the now and opened the door to the vault, walking down the stairs. As he'd expected, Skye was standing there, waiting for him by the time he reached the bottom. He forced himself to look not at her face, which brought memories unbidden, but just to the side of her, just past her. If he didn't look directly at her... maybe it would be easier...

"Grant." She smiled just a little at the sight of him, and Ward clenched his hands tightly. Even after all she'd done, all that he knew about her, her smile could still – it could still make everything seem just a little bit brighter... "I told you I was telling the truth."

"Congratulations. Would you like a medal for that?" Ward's tone was snarky or humorous. It was just angry. He sat down in the chair, placing his hands on the arm rests, holding onto them tightly. He sat straight up, nearly stock still.

"I just want to help you Grant. That's all I want now." Skye replied, her voice soft. _No. You're playing an angle. You have to be._ "What do you need to know?"

"Powered people. Gifteds. Garrett recruited Creel. How does Hydra do it? What are they're methods? Tactics?"

Skye nodded. "Remember when I told Coulson that I thought the Index Evaluation and Intake Process should be renamed to 'the Welcome Wagon'?" Ward did. He'd thought it was ridiculous and silly and exactly the kind of thing the Skye he'd known would have said. "I still think it's a better name, but Hydra – they don't have a welcome wagon. Creel wasn't exactly given very many choices. None are."

"And what are the choices they give?" Grant could handle this Skye better, the one that just told him what he needed to know, better than the one that smiled and tried to convince him she was just here to help.

"They boil down to the same anyway. You work for Hydra, or you're captured or killed by Hydra. When it comes to powered people, there's a whole 'waste not, want not' thing. Garrett never handled that part, but I heard stories, about the experiments, the dissections. The vivisections." Skye crossed her arms in front of her. "Pretty nasty stuff."

"If you think what they do to powered people is so bad, just how is it that you signed up with them? What did they offer you? Money? Power?" Just what was it that was so important to Skye that she would work for Hydra? Betray them all? Drop FitzSimmons into the ocean. The answer, fundamentally, was because she was evil. It had to be. But 'evil' alone wasn't a motivation. Grant wondered just what was it she had valued so much. _Valued over me._ _Over what we had_.

Grant clamped down on that voice, ignoring it.

"Nothing like that." Skye shook her head. "And my loyalty was never to Hydra. My loyalty – I gave it to Garrett. Stupid person to give it to, as it turned out." _Understatement of the decade, Skye._

"So what? You blame Garrett for being a murderer? A traitor? It's all Garrett's fault that you lied to us for months, played us? Played _me?_ " Grant snapped at her, but he kept himself from raising his voice too much. He was off topic, but – _Garrett's evil, and so is Skye._

"I don't blame him for what I did." Skye corrected, her tone light, matter-of-fact. "I made the choices I made. They were my choices – bad choices. Choices that I regret, that I wish I hadn't made, that I'd take back if I could. But I can't, and I'm going to have to live with them, for the rest of my life." Her distant tone was full of regret and sadness. Her expressive brown eyes had both as well. Grant forced his gaze away from her eyes. Away from her face. Away from her.

 _We all will._ Did Skye really think that he bought her remorse? That he believed for a second she regretted what she'd done? She didn't regret doing all the things she did, she regretting getting _caught._ She regretted that she was in a cell now, where she belonged.

And even if she did feel remorse – that didn't change anything. Not after what she did. There was nothing else to it.

 _Back on topic._

"We've gotten a little off track. My bad – so do we get back on topic now, or do I walk?" He made to stand up.

Skye took a step back from the grid. "It's your party Grant. You make the rules." She lowered her arms. "Hydra's protocol on gifteds is pretty cut and dry. They'll start with offers – money, power, a sense of purpose... whatever they think the particular gifted wants. If that doesn't work, the rest of the acquisition team moves in to capture if possible, kill if necessary. It works a lot like S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocols for powered people."

"Except that Hydra has more expansive definition of necessary." Ward replied coldly. "They'll kill a gifted that won't join even if it doesn't pose a threat, right?"

"As far as Hydra is concerned, any gifted that won't join and can't be captured alive _is_ a threat." Skye answered. "And threats are taken care of quickly."

"Thinking in absolutes like that is the difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra." Ward knew the agency's record with the powered was far from perfect. But the Index was necessary. And some powered people were too dangerous or too volatile to be allowed in the general population. The Fridge had been created for rogue powereds first. _And Skye cracked that open. We've only apprehended a few of them._

"It's why Hydra caught S.H.I.E.L.D. with it's pants down." Skye disagreed. "Because when a man like Coulson is busy debating right and wrong, trying to find a way to split moral hairs and avoid crossing too many lines, a man like Garrett has already given the order. Hydra gets the job done, no matter what. And once Hydra's captured a powered person, they have a lot of ways to convince their prisoners to work for them." She looked at him, and Ward avoided her eyes. "Anything else?"

"No. That'll do it for now." Grant got up, reaching for the tablet.

"Grant, wait." Skye started, "There's something you need to know. Not about this, but-"

As soon as he heard the words 'not about this', Grant turned made the grid go opaque again. He didn't need to hear lies from her. Excuses. More about how she 'regretted' what she'd done to him, to FitzSimmons, to the team, to god knew who else.

 _If I had just told her we were going after Donnie Gill, he might still be alive._ Ward hadn't even meant to approach the Vault. Coulson didn't want him going down there, for any reason other than the specific questions that needed to be answered.

 _But I didn't ask all the right questions, now did I?_

Grant had followed one of the first rules of interrogation – never give more information to the one you're questioing than you have to. Besides, Hydra was going after Donnie _now_ , not in the past. Skye wouldn't know a thing about it.

But as it turned out, she had. If it hadn't been for Fitz...

Ward could hardly believe that Fitz, of all people, had tried to kill Skye. Had tried to vent the oxygen from her cell, to make her feel what he'd been through as he drowned. But it's what had happened. Because they were all changed now, coming out Skye's betrayal.

Donnie was brainwashed, and because Ward hadn't asked the right questions of Skye, he hadn't known that. And by the time he had – it was too late. Hydra was closing in. The choices were kill him, let his teammates die or let Hydra take him. And now...

He'd had no choice, but that didn't mean he was happy about having to do it.

Donnie Gill was brainwashed.

Grant opened the door to the vault and went down the stairs. As she had the last two times, Skye stood when she saw him. She didn't approach the grid though.

"Are you here about Fitz?" Skye asked quietly. She looked way from him, a first.

"No." He didn't have any questions there. He'd seen the recording.

"I'm glad you're okay. When Fitz told me you were going after Donnie..." She closed her eyes, then opened them and looked back at him. "I was worried." Her tone, her words sounded completely genuine, even know that he knew what a brilliant liar she'd really been.

 _I'm touched._ She couldn't be worried because she cared about him. No. He wouldn't accept that. _I'm the only one who really had feelings. And I need to jettison what's left of them._ He hadn't been able to yet – he couldn't – but... but with time, maybe he'd be able to. And since he knew Skye felt nothing – it would be possible. Easier.

No. She was worried because she was pinning her hopes for escape on him. On manipulating him and his feelings.

"You said Hydra had ways of convincing the people it captured. You were talking about brainwashing." Ward – he knew the answer to the question he wanted to ask. But he wanted to – needed to- hear her say it. Until she did, there would be a little voice in the back of his head wondering, just wondering...

"I was." Skye confirmed. "It's not something they do all the time. It's expensive, takes time. Doesn't always work as well as planned. But for the High Value targets, yes, Hydra does it."

"High Value. Like you?"

Skye shook her head, taking in a breath. "It would be... easy, if I could say that's what happened. But I promised I would never lie to you, Skye. No. I wasn't brainwashed. Garrett didn't find much use in brainwashing, and... besides, he never valued me that highly. I thought he did, but I was just a tool. By the time I figured that out, it was too late. I made the choices I did. Of my own free will."

She tilted her head a little, still looking at him. "Do you believe me?"

 _Do I believe she wasn't brainwashed?_ Of course. She was right. It would be easy, if that was the case. But his life hadn't been an easy one. Life was never easy, and Skye was evil. And so far, she'd told them the truth – about Creel, about Hydra's methods, about Donnie Gill... and now.

"I do." Grant nodded. "What I can't figure out is why." She could have easily lied about it, played for his sympathy. It wouldn't have worked, but it would fit with everything she'd done so far.

"Because there's something you need to know, Grant. And when I tell you, I want you to believe me." She approached the grid. "You're not a Ward, Grant. Not by blood. Your father isn't Jonathon Ward."


	4. A Rose and Its Thorns

**Disclaimer:** I don't own AoS.

 **Note 1:** Blame the plot bunnies.

 **Note 2:** When I first decided I wanted to expand the fic written as a oneshot for Skyeward Month, this chapter is one of the first ideas that came to my mind. There's no Skye in it, but its a really fun (IMO) exploration of the way this AU is different from the show.

A Sight For Sore Eyes

By Alkeni

Chapter 4: A Rose And It's Thorns, Part 1

 _You're not a Ward, Grant. Not by blood. Your father isn't Jonathon Ward._

Those words had haunted him for nearly two weeks. He'd been fighting the urge to go back down into the Vault and demand to know what it was that Skye meant by that every day. Because he didn't _want_ to see Skye, whatever his traitorous heart sometimes claimed. Because she was lying. She had to be. It didn't make any sense. Grant would _know_ if he wasn't a Ward. It would have come up at some point wouldn't it?

Ward had no idea what game she was trying to play with this lie of hers, but it was a lie. That much was fairly obvious.

But while those words had haunted him, other things had come up. Other problems. The painting with the strange writing much like what Garrett had carved into the plane. That was like the writing in the Toderov building. May and Coulson had managed to retrieve it, but only after going up against Agent 33, who had apparently decided to join Hydra. Ward had heard about Agent 33 – Kara Lynn Palamas – before. She was a formidable opponent, by all accounts, and from what little May had said, it had been a difficult fight.

 _Of course, she was also undone by the fact that the real May doesn't like coffee._ Now that they knew Hydra had a nano-mask, if not more than one, it might be in their best interests for the entire team to come up with things like that, to test if the other person was really them.

 _There's a nice and happy thought_.

And then Simmons had been nearly captured and brainwashed by Hydra. Because Raina had told all of Hydra that Simmons was a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy after Coulson wouldn't hand Skye over to her. And over to her father, apparently.

 _I thought Skye's parents were dead._ But apparently, at least one of them was alive, and Raina worked for him. Skye belonged in her cell, not free, and not having a reward like finally meeting the family she'd searched for – and who knew, that much turned out to be true? And Coulson had refused her deal. A gamble, but as it turned out, Agent Morse had been more than enough to get Simmons. He'd only heard of the blonde specialist by reputation, but what he'd heard had lived up to her displayed skills.

The only downside is now Hunter's 'she-devil ex-wife' was on base with him, and the two of them were starting to have arguments. Lots of arguments. Enough to annoy the crap out of him, whenever he overheard one or accidentally walked into a room where they were having one.

What he wanted to do was punch them both and tell them to save their arguments for somewhere where he and everyone else didn't have to hear them. Not only because their arguing was getting on his nerves, but because those very same nerves were frayed, constantly trying to put Skye's words out of his mind.

Because they were nonsense. They had to be. It was that simple.

Ward put Skye's words out of his mind and opened the door to Coulson's office. "May said you wanted to see me, Sir?" The specialist spoked as he walked in, closing the door behind him. Ward suspected it was about the attack on the UN yesterday by Hydra – masquerading as S.H.I.E.L.D. Bobbi, Hunter and May were already trying to track down the source of the weapons and the next target.

 _Even Talbott can't be stupid enough think that was really us._ Unfortunately, it didn't matter what Talbott thought. He answered to the politicians – as a soldier should, Grant supposed, but the politicians weren't going to care about the subtle distinctions. They were the ones who had blanket condemned S.H.I.E.L.D. as a terrorist organization, rather than actually investigating what had happened. Rather than trying to salvage what they could, the governments of the world had sent the best people to help the fight against Hydra underground, into the private sector, or into prison.

"I do." Coulson pressed a button on his desk, and his monitor, which was playing a news report on the UN attack, unmuted. Grant turned to look at it, eyes widening when he heard a familiar voice.

"...the problem of S.H.I.E.L.D. is an international one, so the response needs to be equally international." Grant didn't need to read the 'Senator Rosalyn Ward (D-MA)' underneath his sisters face on the screen to recognize her. "I'm not saying that everyone who was an employee or agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. should be locked up, unlike some of my friends on the other side of the aisle, but they do all need to be tracked down, investigated and determinations need to be made if they can be brought into the fold of the world's governments to combat the threat of Hydra, as well as all the things we expected S.H.I.E.L.D. to handle for us before."

"A lot of people would say that the distinction between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra doesn't exist. The two agencies-" The news reporter started, but Rose cut him off.

"For one, Hydra isn't an 'agency'. It's a terrorist organization. So is S.H.I.E.L.D., for that matter. And saying they're the same is like saying Captain America is the same as the Red Skull. Does anyone want to be the first person to tell that to Captain Rogers?" She shook her head. "S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and what's left of the organization does need to be held accountable for what Hydra did in their name, for letting Hydra grow within them – and if they're really responsible for this attack, then they will be."

Grant had to admit his sister made good points. But at the same time – if the agency was bogged down in investigations and interrogations... Hydra would be allowed to run free. That couldn't be allowed.

"So you don't think S.H.I.E.L.D. was behind this attack?"

"Of course not. Before this attack, most of the world's government's – hell, even I was – was of the opinion that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s remnants, while still out there, were not that big of a problem. Now we've got everyone scrambling to find a response. False flag operations are as old as warfare itself." Rose shook her head. "Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. are both problems, and they both need to be handled – and our response needs to be as international as the threat."

"And what exactly is your proposal for this 'international response?'", another man said in accented English. Belgium's foreign minister, apparently. "Knocking down every door and arresting anyone you think might be S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra?"

"I don't think we need to go that far, Minister Beckers." Rose replied. "I'd certainly rather we don't, but if we do, it's only the measured response to the threat."

"Belgium would never stand for that – it's an assault on our national sovereignty and destroys the very idea of Citizen's Rights." Beckers replied. Coulson muted the screen and turned to Ward.

"Well, she's being a lot more moderate that some of the arguments we've seen." Grant pointed out.

"Yes, but that very moderation is working in her favor. S.H.I.E.L.D. may not be high in the approval ratings, but Romanoff and Hill's testimony before Congress – what of it was allowed on C-SPAN and the news, helped us. It made the public less immediately willing to crucify us all, which gave us the breathing space to rebuild, at least a little."

"She's getting traction?"

"She is. Minister Beckers's disagreement or not, she seems to be making progress. Not bad for a freshman Senator. But we need her to stop – we're barely managing as it is. We can't fight Hydra and stay ahead of an international effort to bring us all in. Even if they really did give us a fair investigation, we'd be bogged down for months. As long as Hydra is still out there, we can't afford that." Coulson let out a sigh. "Ward, I know you're not close to your sister anymore, but-"

"Not close doesn't really cover it, sir." Grant pointed out. "We haven't spoken in four years, haven't been on good terms for six. If it hadn't been for both of us being at Thomas's birthday party four years ago, it really would have been six years since we've spoken."

"Maybe it's time to bury the hatchet." Coulson suggested, and Grant resisted the urge to snarl at the very idea. He would always be thankful to Rose for having the courage – the courage he'd always lacked – and the determination to get Christian and their mother locked up. But after she'd run for the House of Representatives – and then the Senate...

Things had deteriorated quickly between them.

"And you're the person who knows the most about her. How she thinks. What she wants. You need to convince her to back off." Ward bit back his immediate thought – _Rose doesn't 'back off' from things, Sir._

"If this is what you need me to do, Sir," Grant took a breath, "I'll do it."

* * *

Security at Capitol Hill was surprisingly bad. But then again, most security wasn't that good against Ward. Getting into Rose's office without being noticed wasn't exactly easy, but nor was it hard. When he'd realized she wasn't in, he'd waited for her, steeling himself for a conversation he didn't want to have.

 _Getting to be a habit now._ First talking to Skye for intel, and now talking to Rose to get her to back down from her mostly reasonable, if ill-timed and ill-placed, arguments against S.H.I.E.L.D.

The door opened, and Grant turned to watch as Rose entered her office. His sister drew up short when she saw him, closing the door behind her.

"Hello Rose. Long time no see."

"Grant." Rose said softly. Then her tone grew harsh: "I suppose I don't need to bother asking how you got in here?"

"Not really. Can we talk?" He gestured to the chair behind her desk.

"I suppose we might as well, since you're here." She walked towards him and her desk, then her hand flew, slapping him hard across the face. Grant's face stung, _she still has that mean right hook, apparently._

"What the hell?" Grant didn't put a hand to his cheek.

"It's been _months,_ _**months** ,_ since S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, and Thomas and I have heard **nothing** from you! Not a single damn phone call. You could have been dead for all we knew! I get that you're still angry at me, but you were still in contact with Thomas! So why the hell didn't you give him a call?!" Rose poked his chest, hard, as she spoke, but Grant stopped her from doing it more than once, grabbing a hold of her hand, then letting it go once he'd made his point.

"I sent Thomas a letter." Grant replied defensively.

"Yes. One letter! With _no_ return address, and it's been a long time since you sent it. Not talking to me or not, you're still my brother and I still care about you. I've been worried _sick_ about you." Rose went around him and stood behind her desk.

"Worried sick about me? You've had a funny way of showing it, pushing for the whole world to go after S.H.I.E.L.D. and its former members." Grant replied coldly. Good points or not, this was still his sister, still the person who had exploited what had happened in their family to catapult herself into elected office. Who had turned out to be only a little bit better than their father, selling out to politics and elected office.

"Worried about you or not, Grant, I still have a responsibility to my constituents and to this country." Rose dropped herself into her chair with a heavy sigh. "I should have known you weren't here to talk about the issues between us. Just here to talk about S.H.I.E.L.D." Rose spread her hands. "So, Grant. Convince me."


End file.
